Disney Might Announce Their New CEO Next Week. Here's Who Fans Hope It Will Be.

Some big news is about to come out of The Walt Disney Company, if industry experts are to be believed. Now, it’s no big secret that current CEO Bob Iger is expected to step down this year, so the biggest question all Disney fans have is, “Who will be the next CEO?”

©Disney

Well, we might have an answer to that VERY soon, as in next week, perhaps even during the company’s Q1 earnings call on Tuesday, February 2nd. Now, Disney fans have been talking about who they would like to see run the company next, and there is one name that keeps coming up over and over again.

Industry experts and fans continue to mention Josh D’Amaro as Iger’s successor. D’Amaro is currently the Chairperson of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, and is the industry and fan favorite for taking over as head of the company. Disney fans over on Reddit are in agreement. On a Reddit thread about Disney’s next potential CEO, Lonely_Rabbit1839 writes: “Josh Damaro, the frontrunner and my personal choice since the Chapek era, is an actual Disney fan who has nerded out before with people. He’d take good care of it.”

Josh D’Amaro at SXSW 2023

On that same thread, freddielovesdelilah writes: “Josh D’Amaro would seem to be the best pick. Many Disney fans have met him in person at the Disney parks and D23. There is a story about him showing up at a 12-year-old kid’s birthday party held at Disney World.”

D’Amaro has earned quite the reputation with Disney fans, often appearing in the parks. In October 2020, he was seen walking around Downtown Disney in Disneyland, directly speaking with Cast Members after the company announced a string of layoffs.

Josh D’Amaro

However, another name has come up, and it’s someone else industry experts have pegged as being in the running for the job of Disney CEO. That’s Dana Walden, who is a co-chairman of Disney Entertainment. On the same Reddit thread, she was mentioned, “That’s Dana Walden, who is one of the current frontrunners for CEO. She was in charge of Fox Studios before the merger and has been the person spearheading a lot of the franchise revivals. Very well respected, and a lot of creatives are very much hoping she gets the job.”

©Disney

Granted, Walden’s name doesn’t come up nearly as much as D’Amaro’s, but some fans seem to think Disney doesn’t need just one CEO, but two. On another Reddit thread, grumpyfan writes, “I think the company is too big and has too much at stake for just one person to manage and control. As seen from the start with Walt and Roy, then Michael and Frank, it just seems like it works best when there’s a duo who can work together to drive the company.”

©D23 | Walt and Roy Disney

Another Reddit user, welcometothemeathaus, writes: “I just wish they could get another Michael Eisner/Frank Wells combo. That was when Disney was hitting on all cylinders.”

CNBC has posted that Disney might have been considering co-CEOs back in October, but didn’t think it was a good idea. That hasn’t stopped Disney fans from suggesting that Josh D’Amaro and Dana Walden run the company together, considering D’Amaro’s expertise in running the parks and Walden’s expertise with the TV shows and movies business.

Walt Disney Company Headquarters in Burbank

Regardless, whoever gets the position may be starting a little earlier than anticipated. According to The Wall Street Journal, reports are coming in that Iger could step down before his contract with Disney ends on December 31st.

Whatever fans think, though, we’ll probably have a definitive answer soon as to who will be taking over as the head of one of the biggest entertainment companies in the world. We’ll have to see what Disney decides and wait for an announcement.

Until then, we’ll keep covering ALL Disney news, so stay tuned to DFB for more.

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Who do you think should become Disney’s next CEO? Share your thoughts in the comments!